Paul Ryan Quotes

Let us come to the philosophers, whose authority is of greater weight, and their judgment more to be relied on, because they are believed to have paid attention, not to matters of fiction, but to the investigation of the truth.

I discovered philosophy in my youth when I read 'wildly,' and thus I was exposed to the world of ideas.

To me, what philosophy does best is reflect on knowledge that's generated in other areas.

Philosophy was once considered science.

I bought some books in order to learn the first principles of philosophy.

Philosophy wasn't about facts, it was about ideas. My first essay title was something like: 'How can you know what other people are thinking?' I thought, 'Wow, what an amazing thing.' I really thought deeply for the first time.

Well, I don't know if I can comment on Kant or Hegel because I'm no real philosopher in the sense of knowing what these people have said in any detail so let me not comment on that too much.

You can't do without philosophy, since everything has its hidden meaning which we must know.

Philosophy begins in wonder.

About no subject is there less philosophizing than about philosophy.

First, philosophy concerns itself with all kinds of issues that don't get much airtime in day-to-day life. What's the nature of reality? Can we ever truly know anything, and if so, how? What does it mean to be a moral agent? And while we're at it, is there any such thing as agency anyway?

Since Plato, we have been considering the nature of knowledge, the meaning of meaning and the status of the physical world.

I was interested in philosophy before I knew I was. That's to say, when I was at school, I used to argue with my friends about issues that turned out to be philosophical ones of some kind.

It has been said that metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct.

There is no such thing as philosophy-free science, just science that has been conducted without any consideration of its underlying philosophical assumptions.

Metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct; but to find these reasons is no less an instinct.

I had some hesitations about philosophy because, if you worked out a philosophical theory, it was hard to know whether you were going to be able to prove it or whether other theories had just as good a claim on belief.

I'm taking a philosophy class and regretting it with everything in me. I'm taking one college class per semester. Philosophy is studying what you already know and dismantling it. I thought it would be right up my alley. I can't tell you how much it's not me.

It is right that we be concerned with the scientific probity of metaphysics.

It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true.

Philosophy changes day by day.

Philosophy is an odd thing. When we use the word in everyday speech, you know, you sometimes hear it hilariously.

The philosophers of the Middle Ages demonstrated both that the Earth did not exist and also that it was flat. Today they are still arguing about whether the world exists, but they no longer dispute about whether it is flat.

Philosophy can only be approached with the most concrete comprehension.

I don't think there's an interesting boundary between philosophy and science. Science is totally beholden to philosophy. There are philosophical assumptions in science and there's no way to get around that.